Grants Archive
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Feeding Our Communities Partners (FOCP)
August 24, 2026
Amount Requested$10,000.00
Address2120 Howard Dr. West, Suite J
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
Sheri Sander-Silva
Executive Director
Email hidden; Javascript is required.
Website
- Food and Housing Security
Proposal Information
Funds are Being Requested for:Program Support
Mission StatementFeeding Our Communities Partners (FOCP) has a mission to engage our community in solving youth hunger. We envision a community where hunger is not a barrier to student success and are committed to making this vision a reality.
FOCP’s five core hunger relief programs include: the BackPack Food Program (serving K-5 students), the Power Pack Program (serving grades 6-8), High School food pantry services, the Summer Pack Program for K-12 students, and the Summertime Outreach Meal Program for K-12 students residing in area food deserts. These programs, unique in scope and target audience, provide youth hunger relief on weekends, school breaks, and during the summer months.
These resources are available when access to adequate nutrition is otherwise limited. Collectively, FOCP programs serve more than 1,200 youth each week at public, private, parochial and home schools in nine school districts in South Central Minnesota.
Amount Requested$10,000.00
Program Budget$1,379.00
Organizational Budget$1,379,000.00
Relationship to the Olseth Family FoundationYes
Summarize Your RequestNo child should have to wonder where their next meal will come from—yet for many local kids, hunger begins the moment the school bell rings on Friday. For the children we serve, school meals are their most reliable source of nutrition, and without them, weekends bring quiet uncertainty about whether there will be enough food at home. FOCP is a powerful community response to this urgent need, working to eliminate weekend hunger by providing child-friendly, nutritious food designed for breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day students are away from school.
FOCP’s work to eliminate youth hunger directly aligns with the Olseth Family Foundation’s priority of creating food-security for all. As an organization, we provide meals to cover gaps in nutrition for children up to age 18, alleviating stress for kids and their families.
These thoughtfully curated food packs are assembled, delivered, and discreetly placed into the backpacks or lockers of enrolled children by dedicated volunteers, ensuring dignity and privacy for every recipient. During extended school breaks and throughout the summer, food boxes are delivered to the doorsteps of enrolled kids. These distribution methods remove barriers to access and ensure that nutritious meals make it directly into the hands of the children who need them.
While our current programs address the needs of school-age children, children under the age of five are even more vulnerable when access to consistent food support is lacking. This fall, we will take long-awaited steps to address this critical gap with a pilot program for preschool-age children in partnership with the Mankato Area Public School Preschool program. We also plan to formally partner with the Cleveland school district, offering much needed resources for youth in a small rural consolidated district.
The impact of creating food security is justifiable. Food security is vital to a child's physical, mental, and academic health. By addressing youth hunger, we are also building stronger, more resilient communities where children can thrive and feel valued and loved.
Youth hunger is a solvable problem, but it requires the collective effort of many. With your help, we can support a community of happy and healthy children who can succeed where a rumbling stomach once stopped them.
This request includes the consideration of a three-year pledge of $10K each year from the foundation. A multi-year pledge will provide the opportunity for FOCP to thoughtfully and more confidently plan for the financial sustainability that supports our everlasting commitment to families in need.
Overview of the Grant Request
Population ServedPre K - 12th Grade
Geographic Area ServedSouth Central MN in partnership with 8 local school districts
List Three Measurable Goals That This Funding Will Help You Achieve.Our overarching goal is to ensure that every child has consistent access to nutritious food outside of school, creating a stronger foundation for children to be happy, healthy, and successful.
Goal #1: Provide accessible and reliable food resources to youth in need. Goal #2: Improve the quality of life for students enrolled in FOCP programs. Goal #3: Maintain our commitment to families via a year-round open enrollment policy.
With the collaboration of school staff, community volunteers, and funding stakeholders, we expect to see children returning to school after weekends and school breaks with the nourishment they need to be ready to learn and thrive. Progress will be measured through feedback provided in surveys of youth, parents, and educators.
How Will You Accomplish These Goals?Since its founding in 2010, FOCP has grown from a grassroots effort in Mankato, Minnesota, into a trusted, community-driven nonprofit working at the intersection of hunger relief and human dignity. Now serving youth across nine south-central MN school districts, we have nourished a generation of children by responding to local needs with local solutions.
Logistically, our work is driven by more than 2,000 community volunteers annually. From the warehouse to backpacks and lockers, our food packs arrive with the helping hands of many caring hearts each week.
Food packs or boxes are prepared at the FOCP warehouse by volunteer groups, many representing local businesses. A group of retirees load bins of food packs onto a moving truck each week and distribute them to schools during the school year. Business partners will provide volunteers to each “sponsored” school site to deliver the food packs to classrooms, and teachers distribute the packs to the students expecting them. It’s a village of Hunger Heroes that makes this possible each and every week. The fact that this happens cyclically and seamlessly highlights their commitment to this mission.
During the summer months, FOCP coordinates home deliveries, with food boxes reaching the doorsteps of enrolled youth. This effort is only made possible with an army of 60-100 volunteer drivers.
Financially, FOCP’s work is community supported. We do not receive funds from federal, state, or United Way agencies. This has allowed us to remain nimble, available, and responsive to the needs of the families we serve.
As the need for our hunger-relief programs has grown in tandem with rising food costs, our board and staff have been working diligently on a plan for financial sustainability. Since our inception, FOCP has not scaled back our available services or capped enrollment. It is our guiding goal to remain a viable resource for families when and as needed.
We’ve made great strides in defining what financial sustainability means to us and are beyond grateful for the partners who have made multi-year commitments to support this goal. Paired with earned income through fundraising events and a pool of sustaining monthly individual donors, we are gaining confidence in our ability to be here as a trusted resource for families tomorrow and well into the foreseeable future.
Looking Forward, How Will You Measure These Goals?Food insecurity is a growing and urgent challenge for families in Minnesota, where 32% of households with children are food insecure—a 6% increase from the previous year, according to Second Harvest Heartland and Wilder Research Foundation.
As FOCP’s services are intended to bridge the food access gap for youth, achievement of goals is first measured by connectedness to our services. This past summer, FOCP Summer Pack boxes experienced an 8% increase in enrollment by comparison to last year. Our STOMP weekday lunch program saw a 125% increase in meals distributed in comparison to the previous year. We are preparing for this trend to continue into the upcoming school year while also extending services to the Cleveland school district and Pre-K population.
As a result of access to these food resources, we measure success by feedback provided by parents and educators. Teachers continue to report that with access to these services, youth experience increased energy, improved concentration, and healthier relationships with their peers. Families share that the food packs enhance their child’s physical performance and overall well-being. 91% of parents share that the food packs make their children happier.
Feedback provided by youth themselves highlights that the impact stretches far beyond the simplicity of a food pack. Youth share that the packs make them feel like “they belong”, “are cared for” and “are loved”.
Implementation Plan
Start Date09/12/2026
End Date09/11/2027
Describe Most Significant Collaborations With Other Organizations And Efforts.As a grassroots and community-supported organization, FOCP has developed and maintained excellent working relationships with individuals, businesses, school districts, social service organizations, and community service organizations.
Food preparation and distribution are made possible by hundreds of volunteers who offer their assistance regularly.
Program partners that propel our work include school personnel (principals, teachers, counselors, social workers, custodians), registered dietitians & nutrition educators, service groups, Interns & service-learning students, Area businesses (more than 450 local businesses provide funding and encourage employee volunteerism), and Volunteers (2,100 community members offered nearly 4,000 hours of assistance and support last fiscal year).
FOCP is part of a local food rescue collective in partnership with Region Nine Development Commission, South Central MN Food Recovery, and several other partners. We regularly accept and direct food donations to benefit our local food networks, minimizing food waste. This growing partnership has inspired FOCP’s newest resource addition: Community Cupboard.
Celebrating one-year this August, the Cupboard provides families with an opportunity to shop (free of cost) recovered and donated fresh produce, protein, baked goods, pantry staples, and frozen ready-made meals. Hosted onsite at the FOCP warehouse, Community Cupboard has served more than 355 families and 1,500 individuals, without qualifying factors and without question. From cooling equipment to product and staffing, the effort is maintained by in-kind contributions.
Each of these partnerships ensures a reliable, community-driven distribution model while increasing local investment in the success of these programs. By engaging both individual volunteers and business partners, we are able to expand capacity, maintain consistency, and build strong relationships that support long-term sustainability.
What Is The Projected Timeline For The Proposed Activities?FOCP services are available year-round.
Supplemental Information
Board Members
Current Year Organizational Budget
Program Budget For Proposed Funding Period
Audited Financials (if applicable)
Other EntriesApproval StatusUnapproved
Feeding Our Communities Partners (FOCP)
August 24, 2026
Amount Requested$10,000.00
2120 Howard Dr. West, Suite J
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
Sheri Sander-Silva
Executive Director
Email hidden; Javascript is required.
- Food and Housing Security
Program Support
Feeding Our Communities Partners (FOCP) has a mission to engage our community in solving youth hunger. We envision a community where hunger is not a barrier to student success and are committed to making this vision a reality.
FOCP’s five core hunger relief programs include: the BackPack Food Program (serving K-5 students), the Power Pack Program (serving grades 6-8), High School food pantry services, the Summer Pack Program for K-12 students, and the Summertime Outreach Meal Program for K-12 students residing in area food deserts. These programs, unique in scope and target audience, provide youth hunger relief on weekends, school breaks, and during the summer months.
These resources are available when access to adequate nutrition is otherwise limited. Collectively, FOCP programs serve more than 1,200 youth each week at public, private, parochial and home schools in nine school districts in South Central Minnesota.
$10,000.00
$1,379.00
$1,379,000.00
Yes
No child should have to wonder where their next meal will come from—yet for many local kids, hunger begins the moment the school bell rings on Friday. For the children we serve, school meals are their most reliable source of nutrition, and without them, weekends bring quiet uncertainty about whether there will be enough food at home. FOCP is a powerful community response to this urgent need, working to eliminate weekend hunger by providing child-friendly, nutritious food designed for breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day students are away from school.
FOCP’s work to eliminate youth hunger directly aligns with the Olseth Family Foundation’s priority of creating food-security for all. As an organization, we provide meals to cover gaps in nutrition for children up to age 18, alleviating stress for kids and their families.
These thoughtfully curated food packs are assembled, delivered, and discreetly placed into the backpacks or lockers of enrolled children by dedicated volunteers, ensuring dignity and privacy for every recipient. During extended school breaks and throughout the summer, food boxes are delivered to the doorsteps of enrolled kids. These distribution methods remove barriers to access and ensure that nutritious meals make it directly into the hands of the children who need them.
While our current programs address the needs of school-age children, children under the age of five are even more vulnerable when access to consistent food support is lacking. This fall, we will take long-awaited steps to address this critical gap with a pilot program for preschool-age children in partnership with the Mankato Area Public School Preschool program. We also plan to formally partner with the Cleveland school district, offering much needed resources for youth in a small rural consolidated district.
The impact of creating food security is justifiable. Food security is vital to a child's physical, mental, and academic health. By addressing youth hunger, we are also building stronger, more resilient communities where children can thrive and feel valued and loved.
Youth hunger is a solvable problem, but it requires the collective effort of many. With your help, we can support a community of happy and healthy children who can succeed where a rumbling stomach once stopped them.
This request includes the consideration of a three-year pledge of $10K each year from the foundation. A multi-year pledge will provide the opportunity for FOCP to thoughtfully and more confidently plan for the financial sustainability that supports our everlasting commitment to families in need.
Pre K - 12th Grade
South Central MN in partnership with 8 local school districts
Our overarching goal is to ensure that every child has consistent access to nutritious food outside of school, creating a stronger foundation for children to be happy, healthy, and successful.
Goal #1: Provide accessible and reliable food resources to youth in need. Goal #2: Improve the quality of life for students enrolled in FOCP programs. Goal #3: Maintain our commitment to families via a year-round open enrollment policy.
With the collaboration of school staff, community volunteers, and funding stakeholders, we expect to see children returning to school after weekends and school breaks with the nourishment they need to be ready to learn and thrive. Progress will be measured through feedback provided in surveys of youth, parents, and educators.
Since its founding in 2010, FOCP has grown from a grassroots effort in Mankato, Minnesota, into a trusted, community-driven nonprofit working at the intersection of hunger relief and human dignity. Now serving youth across nine south-central MN school districts, we have nourished a generation of children by responding to local needs with local solutions.
Logistically, our work is driven by more than 2,000 community volunteers annually. From the warehouse to backpacks and lockers, our food packs arrive with the helping hands of many caring hearts each week.
Food packs or boxes are prepared at the FOCP warehouse by volunteer groups, many representing local businesses. A group of retirees load bins of food packs onto a moving truck each week and distribute them to schools during the school year. Business partners will provide volunteers to each “sponsored” school site to deliver the food packs to classrooms, and teachers distribute the packs to the students expecting them. It’s a village of Hunger Heroes that makes this possible each and every week. The fact that this happens cyclically and seamlessly highlights their commitment to this mission.
During the summer months, FOCP coordinates home deliveries, with food boxes reaching the doorsteps of enrolled youth. This effort is only made possible with an army of 60-100 volunteer drivers.
Financially, FOCP’s work is community supported. We do not receive funds from federal, state, or United Way agencies. This has allowed us to remain nimble, available, and responsive to the needs of the families we serve.
As the need for our hunger-relief programs has grown in tandem with rising food costs, our board and staff have been working diligently on a plan for financial sustainability. Since our inception, FOCP has not scaled back our available services or capped enrollment. It is our guiding goal to remain a viable resource for families when and as needed.
We’ve made great strides in defining what financial sustainability means to us and are beyond grateful for the partners who have made multi-year commitments to support this goal. Paired with earned income through fundraising events and a pool of sustaining monthly individual donors, we are gaining confidence in our ability to be here as a trusted resource for families tomorrow and well into the foreseeable future.
Food insecurity is a growing and urgent challenge for families in Minnesota, where 32% of households with children are food insecure—a 6% increase from the previous year, according to Second Harvest Heartland and Wilder Research Foundation.
As FOCP’s services are intended to bridge the food access gap for youth, achievement of goals is first measured by connectedness to our services. This past summer, FOCP Summer Pack boxes experienced an 8% increase in enrollment by comparison to last year. Our STOMP weekday lunch program saw a 125% increase in meals distributed in comparison to the previous year. We are preparing for this trend to continue into the upcoming school year while also extending services to the Cleveland school district and Pre-K population.
As a result of access to these food resources, we measure success by feedback provided by parents and educators. Teachers continue to report that with access to these services, youth experience increased energy, improved concentration, and healthier relationships with their peers. Families share that the food packs enhance their child’s physical performance and overall well-being. 91% of parents share that the food packs make their children happier.
Feedback provided by youth themselves highlights that the impact stretches far beyond the simplicity of a food pack. Youth share that the packs make them feel like “they belong”, “are cared for” and “are loved”.
09/12/2026
09/11/2027
As a grassroots and community-supported organization, FOCP has developed and maintained excellent working relationships with individuals, businesses, school districts, social service organizations, and community service organizations.
Food preparation and distribution are made possible by hundreds of volunteers who offer their assistance regularly.
Program partners that propel our work include school personnel (principals, teachers, counselors, social workers, custodians), registered dietitians & nutrition educators, service groups, Interns & service-learning students, Area businesses (more than 450 local businesses provide funding and encourage employee volunteerism), and Volunteers (2,100 community members offered nearly 4,000 hours of assistance and support last fiscal year).
FOCP is part of a local food rescue collective in partnership with Region Nine Development Commission, South Central MN Food Recovery, and several other partners. We regularly accept and direct food donations to benefit our local food networks, minimizing food waste. This growing partnership has inspired FOCP’s newest resource addition: Community Cupboard.
Celebrating one-year this August, the Cupboard provides families with an opportunity to shop (free of cost) recovered and donated fresh produce, protein, baked goods, pantry staples, and frozen ready-made meals. Hosted onsite at the FOCP warehouse, Community Cupboard has served more than 355 families and 1,500 individuals, without qualifying factors and without question. From cooling equipment to product and staffing, the effort is maintained by in-kind contributions.
Each of these partnerships ensures a reliable, community-driven distribution model while increasing local investment in the success of these programs. By engaging both individual volunteers and business partners, we are able to expand capacity, maintain consistency, and build strong relationships that support long-term sustainability.
FOCP services are available year-round.
Unapproved